We Tested It: Homemade Daily Shower Spray

A low-stress green way to keep the shower shining

My boyfriend has this contraption called an Automatic Shower Cleaner. Have you heard of this? I’ve done some research and basically, it’s a magical device made by unicorns in The Land of Scrubbing and Rainbows.

It hangs there in his shower, looking all inconspicuous. And then every morning, when he gets out of the shower, he hits a little button to activate the unicorn rainbow magic. Because this little device shoots its spray -- called "scrubbing bubbles, with booster," I’m told -- all over the inside of the shower. And it keeps things clean. Totally skuzz-free. And it works! And, it means he almost never has to get in there and actually do any cleaning, let alone call in a San Diego housekeeping service to scrub that shower tile.

Unicorn rainbow magic, indeed.

Like everyone else in the known universe, I really, really hate cleaning the bathroom. It is tedious, and germy, and often requires kneepads and elbow grease. It’s right up there with an afternoon root canal, if you ask me. So discovering a device to shoulder some of the bathroom burden? Well that really does feel like magic.

But there’s just one problem. The shower spray itself is not so magic. It’s more like...toxic. A harsh chemical cocktail does the job, but at what price? What kind of poison is my man spewing into his home every morning? What kind of vapor is escaping into the living room, into the bedroom? What kind of carcinogenic additives might be wafting around the apartment?

Okay, so maybe that’s a little overly dramatic. But I’m an all-natural gal and I much prefer to use simple, safer, non-toxic cleansers in my home. And even though I really wanted that Automatic Shower Cleaner, my inner hippie refused to accept the inclusion of all those chemicals. Which posed a bit of a challenge.

Good thing I love a challenge!

Good thing for me, and good thing for you as well. Because with a bit of trial and error, a bit of in-house testing (at my very patient boyfriend’s apartment, of course), I was able to come up with a totally non-toxic, eco-friendly and all-natural homemade shower cleaner replacement spray. And it really works!

It’s a simple solution made from time-tested “green” cleaning products. Here’s the recipe:

1 cup water

1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

1/2 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon castile soap

optional: essential oil for scent, 20 drops

In a large non-metal mixing bowl, combine the water and castile soap and whisk until the soap is dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

This DIY solution can be used as a refill in an existing contraption, like the Automatic Shower Cleaner. But it can also be added to an empty spray bottle, and applied manually. It’s meant to be used daily, after the shower, and there’s no need to rinse it off. Just spray it, leave it, and forget it.